Bursary programme opens up more opportunities
YOUTHS living in Noupoort in the Northern Cape have welcomed the bursary application season for the 2023 academic year, with a local bursary programme offering tertiary education funding dedicated to young people in this small town.
The Noupoort Wind Farm’s bursary programme was launched in 2018 to give Noupoort youths access to tertiary education.
The bursary fund covers tuition fees, accommodation, books and a monthly living allowance. It also provides mentoring support to students in order to help them deal with the pressures and expectations of tertiary education.
The programme has already benefited eight local youths, who are studying at universities and colleges across the country, including two who have already graduated.
Students are offered the opportunity to study at recognised universities and earn accredited Bachelor's degrees.
Noupoort Wind Farm’s economic development manager, Sandisiwe Mntonintshi, highlighted that the lack of tertiary education facilities in the small town of Noupoort leaves youths at a disadvantage of pursuing further education.
“Parents often do not have the financial resources to fund the education of their children beyond matric. Our bursary therefore makes it possible for qualifying young people to receive tertiary education,” Mntonintshi said.
One of the beneficiaries, Luchulumanco Zwelonke, is currently pursuing a Diploma in Electrical Engineering at the East Cape Midlands College in Uitenhage.
“I am grateful to Noupoort Wind Farm for supporting my education and giving me an opportunity to advance myself. If it was not for the bursary, my family would not have been able to afford to send me to university,” he said.
Young people from Noupoort, who pass their 2022 matric examinations and who qualify to study for an undergraduate degree or national diploma at a recognised university or TVET college, as well as students who are already enrolled full-time at a university or college, are encouraged to apply.
Interested students are encouraged to apply at www.studytrust.org.za. Applications close on September 30, 2022.